Returning from the cemetery to the house beside it, the three Ren brothers sat together to discuss their future plans. Other than their third brother, Ren Fei Fan, who was still sniffling, Ren Wo Xing and Ren Chang Sheng had both calmed down.
Ren Chang Sheng said, "Big Brother, you went down to the town market with Father before, right?"
Ren Wo Xing said, "Yeah. What is it?"
Ren Chang Sheng said, "Now that we've gained the inherited knowledge, we know our family's deaths were caused by the Champion Bloodline's curse erupting. But according to our ancestors' inherited knowledge, Emperor Guangwu originally intended to use the Champion Bloodline, which could 'pass down knowledge,' to preserve cultivation techniques. Thus, Emperor Guangwu also sealed our bloodline, leaving it with only the function of preserving inherited knowledge."
"Back then, the Champion Marquis neither studied nor cultivated, yet he became invincible beneath the heavens before reaching adulthood. He understood astronomy, geography, divination, and strategy. That was because he inherited the accumulated knowledge of generations of Huo family cultivators, and he was born with supreme comprehension and talent."
"Now that the spirit veins have revived, the outstanding figures of the world have no cultivation techniques at all. Therefore, even without the Champion Bloodline, we can become great cultivators through these techniques, suppress the realm, and help restore the Han dynasty. At the same time, demons will revive across the land, forcing everyone to slow their steps and giving us time to aid the Han."
"Once the Han has been restored, we must eliminate demons and help the Han suppress the spirit veins. When the spirit veins fall dormant and our Ren family becomes mortal, we can continue concealing our identities..."
"According to the inherited knowledge, our Ren family has not violated a single shackle. How could the Champion Bloodline have been triggered?"
Ren Wo Xing said, "...That means we violated one."
Ren Chang Sheng said, "Violated one? How is that possible? We never intended to resist the Han or refuse to eliminate demons."
Ren Wo Xing said, "Then... what if the Han bloodline has already been cut off?"
Ren Chang Sheng froze. "...Has it already been cut off?"
Ren Wo Xing said, "I don't know. The Yellow Turban Rebellion happened before, plunging the realm into chaos. Recently, I heard that the Eighteen Route Lords formed the Guandong Army to attack Dong Zhuo, who is holding the Emperor hostage... The world is a complete mess. But supposedly, the Han Emperor is still alive."
Ren Chang Sheng said, "Then..."
Ren Wo Xing said, "The Han Emperor being alive doesn't mean Emperor Guangwu's bloodline still exists."
The two fell silent for a while. The only sound in the scene was Ren Fei Fan's sobbing. Ren Suo, still watching the plot unfold, raised an eyebrow—This was pretty explosive. Liu Xie in this setting wasn't even of the legitimate bloodline?
Maybe it wasn't just Liu Xie. There hadn't been DNA testing in the past, so perhaps... Yikes, that circle was a real mess.
"That must be the only explanation." Second Brother Ren Chang Sheng sighed. "Emperor Guangwu calculated everything during his life, yet even after death, he still could not overcome the human heart and the will of heaven..."
Ren Wo Xing said, "Fortunately, although Emperor Guangwu, in order to ensure that the Han dynasty would endure for generations, did not hesitate to sever the spirit veins and cultivation inheritances, and even laid down shackles to threaten us descendants with the Champion Bloodline, he also pointed out a path to survival for our family."
Ren Chang Sheng gave a bitter laugh. "Big Brother, if you think mating with spirits counts as a path to survival..."
Ren Wo Xing said, "But Second Brother, you know it. We haven't broken free of the shackles. The shackles have only grown stronger."
"We still bear our mission. Emperor Guangwu did not merely alter the bloodline. The moment we, who were born because of that bloodline, awaken it, we can no longer escape."
"Even if we retain our reason, when we encounter Emperor Guangwu's descendants, we will still devote ourselves to serving them; when we encounter demons and ghosts, we will still kill them at any cost; when we encounter spirits... we will inevitably yearn to continue the bloodline."
Ren Fei Fan, who had been crying all along, finally stopped. He looked at his two brothers and asked in confusion, "Mating with spirits... what does that mean?"
Ren Chang Sheng looked helplessly at his third brother. "It'd be faster for you to just recall the inherited knowledge than ask... Sigh."
"The Champion Marquis once said, 'Before the Xiongnu are destroyed, how can I make a home?' People at the time thought he meant he would only start a family after exterminating the Xiongnu demons. But in truth, the Champion Bloodline's curse spreads to one's partner."
"Any member of the opposite sex who mates with someone carrying the Champion Bloodline will have the spiritual energy in their body absorbed by it and turn into a dried corpse overnight. Once the Champion Bloodline awakens, not only can one live only until the age of twenty-four, but one also cannot continue the bloodline."
"Back then, Emperor Guangwu found our ancestor through the descendants of the Champion Marquis's younger brother, Huo Yu. He used a method to awaken our ancestor's Champion Bloodline before sealing it again. Only then could our ancestor have children with ordinary people."
Ren Fei Fan listened in a daze, then asked, "S-so does that mean I can't become husband and wife with Xiao Cui, whom I met at the market last time?"
"You cannot become husband and wife with anyone," Ren Chang Sheng said. "Otherwise, on your wedding night, your wife will turn into a dried corpse before your eyes."
Ren Fei Fan began wailing again. "I'm going to be a bachelor! I've let Father and Mother down... My line is going to end..."
Ren Wo Xing patted his third brother's shoulder. "You don't need to worry too much... We cannot become husband and wife with humans, but Emperor Guangwu discovered that other living beings in this world can withstand the Champion Bloodline."
"Spirits—mountain spirits and earth spirits. Any pure spirit born of heaven and earth that has never harmed humans can coexist peacefully with us. We can spiritually mate with spirits and obtain descendants, though it will consume a great deal of our life force... Most spirits have no emotions, but we can make deals with them."
Ren Fei Fan wiped away his tears. "So my line won't end?"
"It won't, it won't." Ren Wo Xing said, "Our Ren family will surely continue! We will wait for the return of a unified dynasty. Then we will offer the method to seal the spirit veins, eradicate the birth of demons and the curse of the bloodline... We will never perish."
Second Brother Ren Chang Sheng smiled bitterly. "Big Brother, our descendants will definitely resent you."
"This is our fate... Let them hate us." Ren Wo Xing gave a miserable smile. "After accepting the inherited knowledge, I no longer know whether these feelings came from Emperor Guangwu's shackles or whether I was influenced by the Champion Marquis's will to protect the realm and slaughter all demons."
"They will surely Cross My Corpse, sweep away the demons of time, and witness the birth of a peaceful prosperous age... They will also welcome the day when the spirit veins fall dormant and the bloodline lies latent."
"This is our mission, the responsibility we bear as inheritors of the orthodoxy, and the curse of Emperor Guangwu's shackles. We were born because of fate, and we will die because of fate..."
At that point, the plot animation finally ended completely, and the game officially began.
On-screen was the house where the Ren family had just held their discussion. It was really just a wooden cabin. The viewpoint seemed to be seated in the position of honor, with two rows of chairs visible at a glance, along with the courtyard outside the door.
The refined-looking second brother, Ren Chang Sheng, stood in the lower right of the screen. He seemed to be serving as the game guide and said:
"Now, Big Brother, you are the head of our Ren family."
"At present, our strength is still very weak, and the outside world is in chaos. We should cultivate first. Only after gaining a certain level of strength can we do anything else."
Then, the option "Cultivate" appeared in the list on the left. After Ren Suo clicked it, the game displayed: "Please choose how to allocate your cultivation focus for the coming season."
"You have 3 action points available."
"Training categories: Attack, Defense, Reconnaissance, Movement, Healing, Management."
Three action points. There were three people in the Ren family right now. Was it related to the number of people?
Ren Suo picked at random, and Ren Chang Sheng said, "All right. This coming autumn, the three of us brothers will study attack spells together."
They were going to study spells directly? Didn't they need to cultivate first?
Ren Suo twitched his lips. Then he saw the timeline in the upper left change from autumn of 190 CE to winter of 190 CE. The large tree in the courtyard outside had become bare, and Second Brother Ren Chang Sheng was wearing several layers of clothing—clothing with patches on it.
The screen displayed: "After cultivation, you have learned more attack spells. Attack capability has increased!"
"Ren Wo Xing learned the Sword Control Technique!"
"Ren Chang Sheng learned Flame Art!"
"Ren Fei Fan learned the Spirit Spear Technique!"
Ren Chang Sheng said, "Family Head, a guest has arrived!"
A young woman in a brown robe, with black hair and black eyes, suddenly appeared outside the door.
The young woman said, "I am the Tai Bai Plain Earth Spirit. I have come to request that you immortals take action and slay the Demon Soldier Ghost General that has spread into Tai Bai Plain."
Ren Wo Xing said, "What exactly is your background? And what are Demon Soldier Ghost Generals?"
Tai Bai Plain said, "Immortals, there is no need to hide it. Though the three of you are young, your cultivation has advanced A Thousand Miles in a Day since the spirit veins revived. You are great immortals of this age. Demon Soldier Ghost Generals are murderous, vicious spirits born from the resentful and deathly energies gathering on the battlefield at Hulao Pass to the east, spawned among piles of corpses and dead souls. Wherever they pass, not a blade of grass survives; wherever they remain, disaster is certain to arise. They have now entered the region of Tai Bai Plain, not far from you immortals, so I came to request your aid."
Ren Chang Sheng, acting as the strategist, asked, "You are an earth spirit? Then if we help you drive away the Demon Soldier Ghost Generals, what benefit will we receive?"
Tai Bai Plain revealed a trace of astonishment. "Before the spirit veins fell dormant, I remembered that Slaying Demons and Eliminating Devils was a cultivator's sacred duty... But I am merely an earth spirit. I slept for a long time and only awakened because the spirit veins revived. I truly have nothing to offer you immortals..."
Ren Chang Sheng seemed determined to play the villain. He smiled and said, "Our family has a method of spiritual mating. We can mate with spirits and produce descendants."
Before you continue